1974 Green Bay Packers season
NFL team season
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The 1974 Green Bay Packers season was their 56th season overall and their 54th season in the National Football League. The team finished with a 6–8 record under fourth-year head coach Dan Devine, a consecutive third-place finish in the NFC Central division. The Packers lost their last three games, all to non-playoff teams.
| 1974 Green Bay Packers season | |
|---|---|
| General manager | Dan Devine |
| Head coach | Dan Devine |
| Home stadium | Lambeau Field Milwaukee County Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 6–8 |
| Division place | 3rd NFC Central |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
After Week 6, the 3–3 Packers traded five future draft picks to the Los Angeles Rams for veteran quarterback John Hadl, who had recently been benched in favor of James Harris. [1] The trade occurred the day after the Packers' offense (under quarterback Jerry Tagge) managed only three field goals in a 10–9 road loss to rival Chicago on Monday night.[2] The Packers had defeated the Rams 17–6 in Milwaukee the week prior, intercepting four passes.[3]
With a year remaining on his five-year contract, Devine resigned a day after the last game of the regular season and returned to college football at Notre Dame,[4][5] following the sudden retirement of Ara Parseghian. Devine was succeeded as head coach at Green Bay by Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr, hired on Christmas Eve.[6][7][8]
Offseason
Draft
| 1974 Green Bay Packers draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Barty Smith | Fullback | Richmond | |
| 5 | 116 | Steve Odom * | Wide receiver | Utah | |
| 6 | 134 | Don Woods | Running back | New Mexico | |
| 6 | 142 | Ken Payne | Wide receiver | Langston | |
| 7 | 168 | Bart Purvis | Offensive tackle | Maryland | |
| 8 | 194 | Monte Doris | Linebacker | USC | |
| 9 | 220 | Harold Holton | Offensive guard | UTEP | |
| 10 | 246 | Doug Troszak | Defensive tackle | Michigan | |
| 11 | 272 | Eric Torkelson | Running back | UConn | |
| 12 | 298 | Randy Walker | Punter | Northwestern State | |
| 13 | 324 | Emmanuel Armstrong | Linebacker | San Jose State | |
| 14 | 350 | Andrew Neloms | Defensive tackle | Kentucky State | |
| 15 | 376 | Dave Wannstedt | Offensive tackle | Pittsburgh | |
| 16 | 402 | Mark Cooney | Linebacker | Colorado | |
| 17 | 428 | Randall Woodfield | Wide receiver | Portland State | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Undrafted free agents
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Basinger | Defensive end | UC Riverside |
| Tyrone Byrd | Wide receiver | Dartmouth |
| John Cherry | Quarterback | Missouri |
| Gary Cox | Tackle | Ball State |
| Brent Longwell | Tight end | Nebraska |
| Zaven Yaralian | Safety | Nebraska |
Roster
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 15 | Minnesota Vikings | L 17–32 | 0–1 | Lambeau Field | 56,267 |
| 2 | September 22 | at Baltimore Colts | W 20–13 | 1–1 | Memorial Stadium | 41,252 |
| 3 | September 29 | Detroit Lions | W 21–19 | 2–1 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 47,292 |
| 4 | October 6 | Buffalo Bills | L 7–27 | 2–2 | Lambeau Field | 56,267 |
| 5 | October 13 | Los Angeles Rams | W 17–6 | 3–2 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 47,499 |
| 6 | October 21 | at Chicago Bears | L 9–10 | 3–3 | Soldier Field | 50,623 |
| 7 | October 27 | at Detroit Lions | L 17–19 | 3–4 | Tiger Stadium | 51,775 |
| 8 | November 3 | Washington Redskins | L 6–17 | 3–5 | Lambeau Field | 56,267 |
| 9 | November 10 | Chicago Bears | W 20–3 | 4–5 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 46,567 |
| 10 | November 17 | at Minnesota Vikings | W 19–7 | 5–5 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,924 |
| 11 | November 24 | San Diego Chargers | W 34–0 | 6–5 | Lambeau Field | 56,267 |
| 12 | December 1 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 14–36 | 6–6 | Veterans Stadium | 42,030 |
| 13 | December 8 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 6–7 | 6–7 | Candlestick Park | 47,475 |
| 14 | December 15 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 3–10 | 6–8 | Atlanta Stadium | 10,020 |
- Monday (October 21)
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1 vs Vikings
Week One: Minnesota Vikings (0–0) at Green Bay Packers (0–0)
at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
- Date: September 15
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
- Game weather: 60 °F (16 °C)
- Game attendance: 56,267
- Box Score
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Week 2 at Colts
Week Two: Green Bay Packers (0–1) at Baltimore Colts (0–1)
at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland
- Date: September 22
- Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C)
- Game attendance: 41,252
- Box Score
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Week 3
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lions | 3 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 19 |
| • Packers | 0 | 8 | 10 | 3 | 21 |
- Date: September 29
- Location: Milwaukee County Stadium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Game start: 1:00 p.m.
- Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C) • Wind 20 mph (32 km/h)
| 1 | DET | Errol Mann 37-yard field goal | Lions 3–0 | |
| 2 | DET | Errol Mann 26-yard field goal | Lions 6–0 | |
| 2 | GB | Safety, Ted Hendricks blocked punt out of end zone | Lions 6–2 | |
| 2 | GB | Chester Marcol 35-yard field goal | Lions 6–5 | |
| 2 | DET | Larry Walton 39-yard pass from Bill Munson (Errol Mann kick) | Lions 13–5 | |
| 2 | GB | Chester Marcol 36-yard field goal | Lions 13–8 | |
| 3 | DET | Errol Mann 41-yard field goal | Lions 16–8 | |
| 3 | GB | Chester Marcol 41-yard field goal | Lions 16–11 | |
| 3 | GB | Barry Smith 27-yard pass from Jerry Tagge (Chester Marcol kick) | Packers 18–16 | |
| 3 | DET | Errol Mann 28-yard field goal | Lions 19–18 | |
| 4 | GB | Chester Marcol 22-yard field goal | Packers 21–19 | |
Week 9
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bears | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| • Packers | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 20 |
- Date: November 10
- Location: Milwaukee County Stadium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Game start: 1:00 p.m. CST
- Game weather: 46 °F (8 °C), wind 9 mph (14 km/h)
- Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
| 1 | Bears | Mirro Roder 44-yard field goal | Bears 3–0 | |
| 2 | Packers | Chester Marcol 45-yard field goal | Tie 3–3 | |
| 2 | Packers | Steve Odom 95-yard punt return (Chester Marcol kick) | Packers 10–3 | |
| 4 | Packers | Chester Marcol 24-yard field goal | Packers 13–3 | |
| 4 | Packers | John Brockington 1-yard run (Chester Marcol kick) | Packers 20–3 | |
Standings
| NFC Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Minnesota Vikings | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 4–2 | 8–3 | 310 | 195 | W3 |
| Detroit Lions | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 3–3 | 6–5 | 256 | 270 | L1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 3–3 | 4–7 | 210 | 206 | L3 |
| Chicago Bears | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 2–4 | 4–7 | 152 | 279 | L2 |
Awards and records
- Chester Marcol, NFL Leader, Field Goals Made, (25)
- Don Woods, NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year